David Barboza’s expose on the extent of Wen Jiabao’s family’s “hidden riches” has won him a Putlizer. He beat out the Associated Press for its coverage in Syria and Richard Marosi of the Los Angeles Times for his work on deportation of Mexican immigrants.
Good news and bad news for those itching to watch Django Unchained. Seeing Red in China reports via China News that it might be returning to mainland China theaters, though likely not in its current form.
There have been reports today that Django could be resumed late this month in Chinese theaters, provided that director Tarantino will cut what the Chinese censors ask him to cut.
The New York Times elaborates:
Django Unchained has officially been pulled out of every mainland Chinese theater. We first reported earlier today that authorities abruptly shut down the movie’s Beijing premiere, but at least those in attendance at the Sanlitun cineplex got to see one minute of Quentin Tarantino’s revenge flick. Elsewhere in China, the movie never made it to... Read more »
According to Sina Weibo user @血一刀, the premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained at the Sanlitun cineplex in Beijing was interrupted just one minute after it began: Staff members came in and said SARFT called and told them to postpone!! Who can tell me what the fuck is going on? @血一刀’s post, from 10:34 am today,... Read more »
Three days after retiring, Southern Weekly in-house censor Zeng Li is dead. The story via SCMP:
Zeng Li had become a prominent figure during the weekly's protest against censorship in January. His farewell letter has been shared on Weibo thousands of times on Thursday and caused widespread soul-searching about the state of the media in China.
“I used to assume history and memory would always triumph over temporary aberrations and return to their rightful place,” writes author Yan Lianke in this New York Times op-ed. “It now appears the opposite is true.” China is winnowing memory out of its people, creating an “amnesic generation,” Yan argues. It’s “state-sponsored amnesia,” a phrase... Read more »
If you’re a Chinese journalist, writing in English won’t necessarily shield you from the petty decisionmakers and censors in the central organs of China’s bureucracy, as Deng Yuwen can tell you. Writing in the Financial Times on February 27, Deng, the deputy editor of Central Party School-affiliated Study Times, suggested that China should “re-evaluate its longstanding... Read more »
Ah, music festival season in China. With the balmy climes and fluffy white cottonwood pollen comes the annual rumor mill about which bold-faced recording artists are slated to perform at the summertime’s numerous annual kickoff events, which have been denied performance permits, and general conspiratorial grumblings about why this is and who's to blame.
Peng Liyuan may be unlike other wives of China’s leaders — she’s the country’s first “First Lady,” after all — but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to stray off-message when talking about her. Case in point, the above photo, published by @HKfighter with an accompanying message that was translated Tuesday by China Digital Times:
This is interesting. Above, via the bitly blog, is a map showing relative social network usage in countries around the world. The more red a country is, the more clicks. The coloration isn’t at all surprising, considering YouTube has been blocked in China since March 2009. What about Facebook?
![Man Streaks Outside Nobel Banquet Hall In Stockholm To Protest Mo Yan [UPDATE: Liao Yiwu Was There!]](http://beijingcream.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Liao-Yiwu-streaker-Mo-Yan-protest-featured-image-150x150.png "Man Streaks Outside Nobel Banquet Hall In Stockholm To Protest Mo Yan [UPDATE: Liao Yiwu Was There!]")
